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July 15, 2024 — Gunfire erupted at a rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump, with reports indicating that he was injured. The incident has quickly drawn widespread condemnation both domestically and internationally.

The event took place on Monday afternoon local time, during Trump's speech when gunfire suddenly broke out, causing chaos at the scene. Trump was swiftly escorted away and taken to the hospital for treatment. The medical team has stated that his injuries are not life-threatening but further observation is required.

This violent incident has prompted condemnation from leaders and politicians both within the United States and abroad. U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement strongly condemning the act of violence and reiterated that any form of political violence is intolerable. Numerous international leaders have also expressed their condolences and condemnation, underscoring the importance of upholding democracy and freedom of speech.

Local police have initiated an investigation and are urging witnesses to come forward with any information to quickly apprehend the suspect. No organization or individual has claimed responsibility for the incident at this time.

The event has once again brought attention to the issue of gun violence in the United States. Multiple human rights and anti-violence organizations are calling on the government to implement stricter gun control measures to ensure public safety.

Guatemala City, July 14, 2024 — Today, the President of Guatemala issued a formal apology on behalf of the government to nearly 28,000 children who were forcibly adopted abroad and their families. Over several decades, these children were illegally taken from their families and arranged for adoption overseas, causing irreparable harm and trauma to countless families.

In a public apology ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, the President expressed deep sympathy and regret to the victims and their families. He stated that this action was a severe violation of human rights, and the government is committed to taking all possible measures to compensate the victims and ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.

The President emphasized in his speech, “Today, we stand at a crossroads of history, and we must confront the mistakes of the past to build a fairer and more just future. To those children who were forcibly taken from their homes and their families, we deeply apologize. We will do everything in our power to help them rebuild their lives and ensure that their rights are fully protected.”

The exposure of this event has drawn widespread attention and condemnation from the international community. The Guatemalan government has launched a detailed investigation and is working with several international organizations to seek legal and humanitarian aid. Currently, the government is striving to establish a specialized assistance program to provide psychological, legal, and financial support to the victims and their families.

In addition to the public apology, the government plans to establish a dedicated fund to support efforts to reunite victims with their lost relatives. The government calls on the international community and relevant countries to cooperate in helping these forcibly adopted children find their biological families and restore their identities and dignity.

This apology marks an important step for the Guatemalan government in addressing historical wrongs and restoring social justice. The government is committed to strengthening child rights protection in the future, ensuring that all children can grow up in a safe and loving environment.

The multinational joint military exercise "Pitch Black," held every two years, is taking place from July 12 to August 2, setting a new record for scale with participation from 20 countries. Approximately 4,400 air force personnel and over 140 fighter jets are involved, and for the first time, an aircraft carrier is participating.

The exercise is hosted by Australia and conducted at RAAF Base Darwin, RAAF Base Tindal in Northern Australia, and Amberley Air Force Base in Queensland. Participating countries include the USA, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, India, South Korea, Indonesia, and Malaysia, with Italy, Spain, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea participating for the first time.

The participating aircraft include France's Rafale jets, Germany's EFA jets, the UK's EFA Typhoon jets, Spain's EFA jets, and the USA's F-22A stealth jets. Italy has deployed F-35A stealth jets, EFA jets, Navy F-35B stealth jets, and AV-8B attack jets.
The Philippines is sending jets overseas for the first time since 1963, deploying four FA-50 fighter jets and 162 personnel. India has deployed Su-30MKI jets, C-17 transport aircraft, an Il-78 tanker, and a team of 150 personnel.

Indonesia and Malaysia have deployed F-16A/B and F-16C/D jets and F/A-18D two-seat jets, respectively. Thailand and Singapore have deployed JAS39C/D Gripen jets and F-16C/D and F-15SG jets, respectively. Japan and South Korea have deployed F-2A/B jets and F-15K two-seat jets. As the host nation, Australia has deployed F-35A stealth jets, F/A-18F two-seat jets, and EA-18G electronic warfare jets.

The commander of the exercise, RAAF Brigadier General Peter Robinson, stated that the exercise provides the capability for participating nations to operate jointly, validating their shared commitment to maintaining regional peace and stability.

The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services submitted the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on the 8th, proposing a budget of $919.9 billion for Senate review. The bill includes numerous provisions related to the security of the Taiwan Strait, such as establishing a regional emergency military stockpile in Taiwan, ensuring Taiwan's alignment with U.S. defense strategy, expanding global defense production, integrating Taiwan into the defense industry cooperation, and enhancing supply chain security and resilience to meet Taiwan's defense needs and improve U.S. military deployment capabilities in the Taiwan Strait.

The bill is 1,197 pages long and aims to strengthen U.S. long-term military competitiveness, modernize the battlefield, build U.S. combat power, and enhance military cooperation among international alliances. The Indo-Pacific-related provisions include expanding and strengthening U.S. alliance networks, enhancing U.S. military posture, supporting Taiwan, and countering China. Notably, the bill requires the U.S. Department of Defense to establish a long-term regional emergency military stockpile in Taiwan, strengthen Taiwan's defense supply chain cooperation to prevent disruptions, and meet the defense needs of the Taiwan Strait.

Previously, in June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the NDAA with an approved amount of $883.7 billion. Once the Senate passes its version of the bill, both chambers will need to reconcile the texts to produce a consistent version. After both chambers vote to pass the reconciled bill, it will be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

At the NATO Washington Summit on the 10th, a joint statement was released, with all countries unanimously agreeing that Ukraine is on an "irreversible" path to joining NATO, but this is conditional upon the end of the Russia-Ukraine war. The statement emphasized that Ukraine's future lies within NATO, and the alliance will steadfastly support Ukraine.

The statement also announced support to strengthen Ukraine's defense, including the delivery of NATO-provided F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the US, Netherlands, and Denmark this summer. President Zelensky also expressed his gratitude on Twitter. Additionally, NATO committed to long-term military assistance to Ukraine, establishing a NATO center to ensure Ukraine receives weapons deliveries and corresponding training, equipment maintenance, and repairs. The plan, codenamed NSATU (NATO Security Assistance and Training to Ukraine), will be based at the US military base in Wiesbaden, Germany.

However, these measures are still insufficient to drive back the Russian military. In fact, NATO does not seek a Ukrainian victory. The statement pointed out that "NATO does not seek confrontation, nor does it pose a threat to Russia. We remain willing to maintain communication channels with Moscow to reduce risks and prevent escalation."

The statement also did not forget to criticize China, accusing it of providing components for Russia's weapons, which has been a decisive factor in the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war. The statement reiterated support for Ukraine's accession to NATO, stating that when all member countries agree, and Ukraine's democratic, economic, and military reforms meet NATO's criteria, it will receive an invitation to join NATO. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that this will not happen now, but rather after the war, to ensure that Russia does not attack Ukraine again.

On the morning of July 8, Russia once again launched air strikes on major cities in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that the Russian army fired more than 40 missiles at 5 cities, causing at least 31 deaths and 154 injuries. Among them, 20 people were killed and 61 injured in the Kyiv region, and a children’s hospital was severely damaged. Ukraine’s power facilities continue to be under fierce attack, leaving about 100,000 people in the northeastern state of Sumy in Ukraine without electricity.

The Kyiv Post reported that Zelensky posted on social media, “Russian terrorists once again attacked Ukraine with missiles. Five cities were affected: Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvy Rih, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk. More than 40 various types of missiles, including ‘Dagger’ hypersonic missiles. Residential buildings, infrastructure, and the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital located in the Shevchenkivsky district of Kyiv were damaged in many places, including the hemodialysis room, ICU, operating room, and oncology department. Zelensky described it as ‘one of the most important children’s hospitals in Europe.’”

This attack by Russia caused an emergency power outage in the Sumy state near the Russo-Ukrainian border and the capital city of the same name, forcing people to endure life without water, air conditioning, and basic medical equipment in the scorching heat. The Ukrainian National Energy Company (Ukrenergo) pointed out that in the past three months alone, Ukraine has lost 9 GW (gigawatts) of electricity. Thermal power plants have been lost, and hydropower has also been attacked by drones or missiles. The lost power exceeds one-third of Ukraine’s daily power generation before the war, which is enough to supply the peak power consumption in the Netherlands.

This year's Tokyo gubernatorial election featured a total of 56 candidates, including the incumbent governor Yuriko Koike seeking re-election, former senator of Taiwanese descent Renho, and former mayor of Akitakata City in Hiroshima Prefecture, Shinji Ishimaru. The election results were announced earlier on the 7th by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), with the current Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike successfully securing re-election.

The Tokyo gubernatorial election is Japan's largest local government election, with 11,533,132 registered voters this time, including 5,620,838 men and 5,912,294 women. This election saw a record-breaking 56 candidates running.

Yuriko Koike, 71 years old, ran as an independent candidate, promoting her slogan "Tokyo Grand Reform 3.0," with a particular focus on policies addressing declining birth rates and disaster management. She highlighted her achievements over the past eight years, such as promoting affordable private housing to address young people's housing difficulties.

Koike's strongest opponent, Renho, argued that the fundamental reason young people are not having children is economic issues, which prevent them from getting married or having children. Renho proposed policies to raise wages, combat poverty, and provide rent subsidies to families with multiple children. Another candidate, Shinji Ishimaru, believed that the declining birth rate is a national issue and advocated for investments in education to improve school environments.

In this election, Koike further emphasized her "Tokyo Grand Reform 3.0" with a focus on childcare policies and digital transformation. She also introduced her AI avatar on social media, breaking away from traditional campaign methods. Despite the declining support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's cabinet, Yuriko Koike won the Tokyo gubernatorial election and remains a potential candidate for future prime minister of Japan.

The FOWPAL delegation met with Dimitrios Tsetsilas, the Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaly, 5th from left, who was representing Governor Dimitris Kouretas.

Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon are experiencing escalating conflicts. Recently, Israel conducted a drone strike targeting a senior Hezbollah commander, resulting in the death of Hezbollah's second-highest-ranking commander. In response, Hezbollah launched over 200 rockets towards Israel on the 4th, prompting immediate retaliatory strikes by the Israeli military on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. No casualties have been reported from either side.

Hezbollah stated that the 200 rockets launched towards Israel on the 4th were in retaliation for the killing of their senior commander and constituted one of the largest rocket attacks to date, including drone strikes on ten Israeli military sites. Israel responded by targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. According to Israel, most of Hezbollah's rockets were intercepted by air defense systems, though fires were ignited in several northern regions of Israel. Since May this year, frequent Hezbollah airstrikes have burned approximately 8,700 hectares of land in northern Israel, but no casualties have been reported.

The United States and France are continuously mediating to prevent further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. Additionally, reports suggest that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is evaluating the possibility of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas and plans to convene a cabinet meeting to discuss this further.

The UK parliamentary election was held on the 4th, and the results were out: the ruling Conservative Party suffered a devastating defeat. The Labour Party secured 412 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons, and its leader, Keir Starmer, is set to become the new Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority. The results were delayed by a few hours and were announced by 11 am London time on the 5th, with 2 seats still unaccounted for. However, exit polls had already predicted a major victory for Labour, which gained 211 more seats than in the last election, achieving 33.8% voter support.

The Conservative Party won only 121 seats, fewer than the 131 predicted by exit polls, and a significant drop of 250 seats compared to the previous election. This marked the worst result in history for the party that has been in power for 14 years, dealing a catastrophic blow.

The centrist Liberal Democrats were another big winner, increasing their seats from an expected 61 to 71, ranking third and gaining 63 seats. The right-wing populist party Reform UK, led by "Brexit champion" Nigel Farage, was predicted to win 13 seats but only secured 4. The nationalist Scottish National Party (SNP) suffered a major loss of 38 seats, winning only 9.

Following the announcement of the exit polls, the reaction of the British pound's exchange rate was calm, unlike the responses to the Scottish independence referendum and Brexit referendum, indicating that the election results met market expectations. A few days later, at the 75th anniversary summit of NATO in Washington, the new Prime Minister Starmer will make his debut on the world stage. He will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the European Political Community meeting on the 18th in England.